Reproductive Justice, Healthcare & History: Community Engaged Histories of Reproductive Health Care and Activism in Scotland and Alberta 1967-1990

Building on historical scholarship about reproduction, healthcare, and feminism, this project recognizes feminist groups and organizations as major players, alongside politicians and medical professionals, in the development of local and regional reproductive healthcare in Scotland and Alberta between 1967 and 1990. An interdisciplinary team will conduct 50 oral history interviews and collect materials from relevant archives to explore histories of reproductive health services both within and outside of official healthcare system during this time period. In doing so, we will comparatively analyse how discrete national political, medical, and activist notions of reproductive rights shaped the provision of reproductive healthcare. In addition to oral history and archival methods, this project will expand this historical field by using a reproductive justice framework and engagement methodologies. The project team will work with engagement partners to guide research priorities and co-design high-impact outputs. The goal of using engagement methods in this project is to offer historical frameworks to support contemporary groups as they grapple with complex reproductive justice concerns. Reciprocally, the project team will incorporate contemporary concerns of the community groups to push the historical narrative about reproductive health beyond gender and sexuality binaries and critique historically White- and middle class-dominated narratives.